Every Veterans Day I am reminded of the 1964 film “The Americanization of Emily,” starring James Garner as a cynical character who insists that the military parades and memorials to heroes perpetuate wars and make them romantic. I was quite young when I saw the movie, but even I recognized that this was Hollywood anti-Vietnam propaganda disguised as a light comedic drama.

The Hollywood stars of the 21st century could not be more different than the luminaries of the 1940s who left their chauffeured limousines and mansions behind them to fight for their country. At 41 years of age, the superstar Clark Gable joined the Army Air Corps as a private, trained on fighter jets, and flew five combat missions over Germany. James Stewart, another superstar, also joined the Army Air Corps, won the Distinguished Flying Cross, and retired in 1968 as a brigadier general.

Our current flock of stellar personalities, on the other hand, thinks they’re courageous because they went and personally faced the American public campaigning for John Kerry.

Tomorrow is Veterans Day, and schools and banks are closed. The Veterans Day Parade is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. at Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street and end at 59th Street. There will be patriotic concerts at Bryant Park and Central Park. One tour agency advertising the event said the parade will attract a million people. Why do I find that hard to believe?

This is an anti-war city in a blue state that just lost an election. While some here claim they do support the troops, they really have little respect for the military and have a warped view of what is bravery. When the Boston Red Sox star Curt Schilling appeared on “Good Morning America,” the host, Charles Gibson, called him a warrior for pitching superbly in the World Series despite suffering from a seriously injured ankle. Mr. Schilling rejected the remark and said the real warriors were the military fighting in the Middle East. He is exactly right. The American Marines and the Iraqi army fighting in Fallujah at this moment define that word perfectly. Pray for them.

We are in the midst of a very bloody war. The Democratic effort to alarm our youth with the possibility of a draft was a shameless effort to influence the election with a bald-faced lie. Rep. Charles Rangel, Democrat of Harlem, was the culprit who actually introduced a resolution to restore the draft. He claimed he was doing so because people from the lower economic levels should not be the only ones in harm’s way.

It’s true that in tough economic times with a scarcity of good jobs available, the military presents an attractive option and a way to pay for college. Mr. Rangel is assuming that minorities are trapped into the military by poverty and bear the brunt of the casualties. He needs to talk with his constituency more. He also needs to do better research on the volunteer force we now have, which is better-paid and better educated than ever before.

Young men in the ghetto and the barrio, especially those in dysfunctional families, do not have many of the options in life afforded those in the middle class. Gang activity is high here, and unless parental guidance is strong enough the temptation is always there for joining criminal elements.

To die in the streets of Bed-Stuy, South Central, and even Stapleton here in Staten Island in a drug deal is a real possibility. The idea of escaping the inner city to perform heroic deeds in the military, conquer all challenges, and test one’s mettle can be an attractive alternative.

When my brother was 17, he joined the Marines. That branch of the service had a boot camp that was legendary for its harsh training regimen, and many of the young men in the barrio strove to become part of its glorious history. Wearing dress blues in a parade before family and friends was considered an incomparable high.

Those New York boys went, some died, and some came home – to be spit on by anti-war activists who called them baby-killers. Their Purple Hearts were thrown into dresser drawers and forgotten. The crowds at the parade became thinner and thinner, and November 11 became just another big shopping day.

There are times when I wish I lived in a small Midwestern town where everybody knows everybody and people stand and cheer and wave American flags at the brave men in uniform passing by who keep our country safe.

But I live in the very blue New York City, where, I’ve been told, we are too sophisticated and smart to do something as silly as that.